AUSTIN — Results of a new state physical fitness test confirmed fears that Texas children, especially teenagers, are seriously out of shape.

The fitness assessment of 2.6 million students, touted as the largest exam of its type, shows that only 30 percent of third-graders reached healthy performance levels in all six areas tested. By the 12th grade, less than 10 percent made passing marks.

"Our children's health is in jeopardy," said state Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Lewisville. "We cannot allow an entire generation of Texans to grow up and live a shorter life than previous generations."

About 84 percent of Texas' third- through 12th-graders participated this spring in the six-part assessment, which measures strength, stamina, flexibility and body composition.

Students were asked to, among other activities, run a mile and do curl-ups, push-ups and shoulder stretches. Schools are required to provide students' results to their parents, if they ask.

Developed by the Dallas-based Cooper Institute, the assessment sets a "healthy fitness zone" for each activity, depending on a child's age and gender.

Older kids in worse shape

To be considered fit, for example, a 10-year-old boy must be able to run a mile in 11 minutes, 30 seconds and do 12 curl-ups, nine trunk-lifts, seven push-ups and an 8-inch sit-and-reach.

Only about 28 percent of third-grade boys met that mark, and fitness levels declined with each successive grade level.

This new data will be used to establish the links between health, academic performance, attendance and behavior, experts said.

One out of 3 children born after 2000 is expected to become diabetic, increasing the total number of diabetics in America from 21 million today to 100 million by 2050.

Daryl Wade, the Houston school district's athletics director, said he was "shocked" that so few high school students met the standard, "especially given the number of world-class athletes we have here in Texas."

Wade, who has two school-age sons, said teachers and parents must help children discover activities that help them stay fit.

"Video games are very important to our kids these days, but we have to get them outside," he said. "Every kid is not an athlete, but there are things they can do outside."

HISD plans to hold a town hall meeting with parents in September to explain what's expected of students on the physical fitness test. They also plan to appeal for parents' help.

"Parents have got to be our partners. In many cases, we only have kids six or seven hours a day," spokesman Terry Abbott said.

Mom says blame misplaced

Houston mother Arva Howard said she's saddened by Texas' results. Howard, who has a daughter in middle school and a son who just graduated from high school, was also troubled by educators' attempts to place the blame on parents:

"You have our children nine hours a day, and you have them during peak hours. When exactly am I supposed to give my kid a workout? At 9 p.m.?"

If schools would focus less on standardized exams and more on children's well-being, academic performance would take care of itself, she said.

Alief ISD Wellness Coordinator Kelley Sullivan said students in her district struggled the most with cardiovascular and body mass index, two of the more important health indicators.

"We've all known — and this shows us — we have areas for improvement," she said. Alief was the only Houston-area school district that provided the Chronicle their students' results Tuesday.

Alief high schoolers had the hardest time with the cardiovascular test — fewer than 6 percent of 18-year-olds met the standard. Less than half of 11-year-old boys in Alief had desirable body mass indices.

As a district, Alief struggled to figure out how to test tens of thousands of children, especially the ones who don't attend physical education class. It was also difficult for them to get children to try their hardest on the test.

"I don't know that we took enough time to explain why we're doing the test, why it was important," Sullivan said. "You realized afterwards that there was probably a better way to do it."